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Last update - 23:38 24/01/2003 |
plans
DAVOS, Switzerland - Palestinian Authority Finance Minister Salam Fayyad disclosed Friday that the new Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) will report the full size of its assets and investments on February 22.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Fayyad unveiled the efforts to be made to provide both the Palestinians and the international donor community a system of "full transparency and accountability" in the PNA's financial sector.
He acknowledged the criticism and allegations of corruption made abroad about the PNA's handling of international donor funds, but that now the PIF would assure a system of honesty.
"The Fund and its strict operating regulations constitute a major milestone in the financial reform process," Fayyad said. "We have agreed to adhere to, and are already implementing, the highest levels of international accounting and transparency standards."
The PIF was set up with the help of international financial consultants PriceWaterhouseCoopers, with the accounting of the Palestinians' assets undertaken by the ratings agency Standard and Poors.
Fayyad declined to specify the size of the Palestinians' assets, saying this would be fully reported on February 22 at the next board meeting of the PIF. The figures will also be made available on a new PIF website to be launched on that date.
After that, the PIF will report each and every month, "line by line" on the PNA's financial position, he said.
"This is a popular kind of change, a change demanded by our people," Fayyad said about the new drive to provide an open and transparent accounting of the PNA's finances.
The PIF was established on August 14, 2002 under a decree issued by PNA chairman Yasser Arafat. Fayyad, as minister of finance, is chairman of the PIF, while Mohammad Rachid is managing director of the fund.
"This kind of opening up is important," Fayyad said. He admitted that the PNA stood accused of mismanaging international funds, but in a partial defence noted that the Authority was only set up in the mid-1990s with people who did not have much experience in government and then were operating under the "difficult conditions" posed by the conflict with Israel.